JTM600
Reviewed by:
annostyle, on june 28, 2010 1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Price paid: $ 1200

Purchased from: Local guitar shop

Features: I have a feeling this amp might be a bit of a collectors item. I know this amp is a very rare line of Marshall's made back in '97. It was only in production for that year. I got it brand new in the summer of 1998. I was only seventeen and had been playing for a couple of years. It was a gift to me from my father. I have had it and been playing it since that time. Other amps have come and gone, but this one has always stayed with me. It comes in a tweed Vintage brown color. I think that was the only color it was produced in. It comes with a 4x10" cabinet (though the cab has been stolen from me a couple years ago). 2 channels, clean and dirty, 60 watts, Seperate EQ for both channels. Seperate reverb for both channels (nice), four ECC83's and two EL34 tubes, series and parallel effects loops. This amp has plenty of power for me. I use it for small club gigs. I still love it after 12 years! // 9

Sound: I currently use this amp with a PRS Custom 24 and Fender Strat. Both great guitars with individual tones. This amp has one of the best clean channels I've ever heard. Not like a Fender clean, which can be too sensitive, just a great, warm, crystal clear clean channel. Sounds fantastic turned up to get a wonderful light overdriven tone. Put a tube screamer in front of it and it sings. This thing suits rock n roll music period. Not metal. Rock n roll. The OD channel gives you a great classic rock tone, very Hendrix or Robin Trower like. Though I prefer cranking the clean to really break up those tubes. Perfection. This amp must be played through a good cabinet. I do not have the original 4x10 cab anymore, I play through a 1936 2x12. Sounds great. The 4x10 couldve almost been used as a bass cab! Great low end, very clear crisp tone. Damn, I wish I had that back! // 9

Reliability & Durability: Heres where it gets a little cloudy. I've had this thing for most of my guitar playing days. Even when I knew nothing about the care and maintenance of a tube amp. And because I never took the time to research how to properly handle tube amps, this thing has (broken down) on me a couple times. Blown fuses, blown tubes. I think it is more user error than faulty amp. Now that I'm older and wiser and know what it takes to keep a tube amp sounding great, it has had no problems. I change the tubes out about once a year, and get it properly biased every time. One thing that is different than most tube amps is that the tubes in this one lay horizontally and not standing up like most others. I think this might cause the amp to run a little hotter than others, but as long as your in a ventilated area and not backed up to a wall, things should be fine. I've heard of other people sticking a mini fan back there just to make sure. I don't do this, but it couldnt hurt. // 7

Overall Impression: I've had this thing since 1998 and I still love it. I love it more and more the older I get. This thing has shaped the way I play. A great rock n roll amplifier. If it were stolen I would definitely look for another, but I'm not sure I could find one. These things are nowhere to be found on ebay or craigslist or any guitar shop. If you have one, hang on to it. And if you come across one for sale, buy it. Fantastic Marshall tone. // 9

JTM600
Reviewed by:
torcamaniac.ZEL, on june 19, 2013 0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Price paid: € 1000

Purchased from: Local Music Shop Linberg Munich

Features: Got it new sometime in 1997. Mine is a combo with 3x10" eminence Heritage speakers. I play with it everything from blues to metal. It has two channels (clean and boost/gain), both with its own Eq's, volume and reverb knobs each. There's also a Master knob for Overall volume. It has a channelswitch but also a footswitch that came with it. There is a presence knob in the back and a plug for external cab or PA connection. Serial and Parallel Fx loop both. It has everything I need and more. For example I never use a serial Fx and I still didn't need a cab for it. It has 60 watt power with 2x El34 power tubes and 4x 12ax preamp tubes. Enough for rehearsals and up to medium gigs. // 10

Sound: I use Ibanez S470 with original pickups. The neck humbucker is just great. I also use Cort G260 with duncan pickups. I can play everything with it but I use it mosltly for blues, rock and hardrock. The clean channel is great not Marshall like. The gain channel is also very good frim overdrive to heavy riffing distirtion but I use stompboxes so I don't really need it. The clean channel gets crunchy from about 6 - 10. If you turn the Master volume all the way, it starts too crunch at about 8. Its not very noisy and you can experiment with tubes for taste. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This part is problematic eventhough after owning it for 16 years now I never needed to fix it. Because they do get HOT and the tubes are really close to a chassis where the electronics are a small computer fan or two like I did is a must. That's why I probably never had problems with it and it stays nice and cold. So yes I can depend on it... I did change the tubes to get an optimal sound for myself. The original tubes were still working after 16 years though... Obe thing I noticed is thay on clean channell on the bass knob you hear almost no differnce between 5 to 10. For mecits enough and because I use stompboxes the sound has more bottom anyway. // 7

Overall Impression: Like I said I play all kinds of blues and rock songs from Hendrix to Nirvana and this guy likes it all. Been playing for 24 years now. I also own a modified Peavey Valve King 112, Zoom G5, lot of Boss and Ibanez stomboxes etc. And also a lot of studio gear for semiprofessional recording. If it were stolen I would miss it becaise its probably very hard to find due to it being in production for only a year and a half. It has its own charachter and its the cleanest sounding Marshall ever, so it would probably hard search to find something similar. I love everything about it... I compared it to JCM800, Fender Deluxe, Peavey Valveking and a Vox Hybrid. I like the valveking and Fender Deluxe and they all have their individual strengths. If I I could I'd probably own all three. Still I'd say that the JTM is the most versatile. // 10